Editor’s Notes: Why we cannot take no-deal off the table
There has been no shortage of ludicrous Brexiter outbursts lately as they see their project imperilled by political reality.
One Tory backbencher railed against the CEO of Airbus (who had warned against a no-deal Brexit) on the grounds that he is German. He even invoked the Second World War to make a point about not being bullied. Other sub-par MPs insist on parroting the line that the EU will do a deal “because we buy so much prosecco from Italy”.
More sensible Brexiters wince when these types take to the airwaves.
However, there is one position held by pro-Brexit MPs that deserves to be taken seriously: no-deal cannot be ruled out.
There are those in Westminster who consider the prospect of a no-deal Brexit to be so horrifying that the only sensible thing to do is to “take it off the table”.
Some may indeed hold this view sincerely but I suspect that many others are drawn to the position because they see it as a route towards a soft Brexit (such as customs union membership) or no Brexit at all.
I share MPs’ concerns about the impact of leaving without a Withdrawal Agreement, but I believe the best way to get a deal is to present no-deal as a live possibility.
At present, the EU expects MPs to block a no-deal exit, meaning the Commission has zero incentive to engage constructively with the Prime Minister’s reasonable request to look again at the backstop issue.
No side wants a no-deal exit – I do not want a no-deal exit – but the truth of the matter is that the EU cannot afford for these talks to collapse (see today's front page story) and they should take some responsibility for ensuring that they don’t.
Angela Merkel is reported to be in favour of taking negotiations to the absolute brink before finding a solution.
This is, after all, the EU’s way. If MPs force the government to take no-deal off the table then we shall simply be left sitting there waiting to receive whatever the EU decides to serve.
Island life
Getting home from London to the Isles of Scilly is always something of an adventure, involving as it does trains, planes and boats. This was also the case when I was away at school in Truro.
After a visit home during my GCSEs I had to take a small jet boat back over the 30-mile channel in order to sit an exam, after the passenger ferry called it quits during particularly high seas.
While reading a recent edition of my former school’s newsletter I came across a report from April 1918 that shows how previous generations of Scillonians (as we are known) faced their own challenges getting home.
The account tells of five Scillonian pupils who set off from Truro to Penzance to catch the ferry but missed it and had to hitch a ride on the 1pm mail boat.
On the crossing they passed the remains of a recently torpedoed vessel and saw another steamer going down in flames before seeing a pair of seaplanes taking out a German submarine.
The pupils docked at 7pm, “devoutly thankful”.
Required reading
I’m not terribly social on Twitter, preferring instead to fire off my thoughts and observations and then ignore whatever replies they drag back in.
But I thought I’d enter more into the spirit of things when my dear friend Alastair Stewart tagged me in an invitation to share the covers of my seven favourite books before nominating seven friends to do likewise.
I enjoyed the task, and so for those of you who don’t dip into the asylum of Twitter.com
I’m pleased to share my selections with you here. In no particular order I opted for The Wilder Shores of Marx by Anthony Daniels, Any Human Heart by William Boyd, Flashman’s Lady by George MacDonald Fraser (though frankly any Flashy novel would have worked), Jill by Philip Larkin, Letters to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis and, finally, Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum – which I’m currently devouring at a rate of knots.
I humbly suggest that you order these books – and enjoy.